Interrupted Moments
by animefreak5483
Summary: A series of moments between Keith and Allura set in the Legendary Defender Universe. Each encounter leaves them both wondering more about their pasts, present and the role of fate. The building of trust and friendship can only lead to good things for our favorite pair, right? Appearances from the team throughout, but focus on K/A growth that runs below the surface in the show.
1. Useless

_Hello, Voltron fans. Damn these plot bunnies! They really do take over your life until you let them free._

 _This story is a bunch of one-shots set in-between episodes and other little inserts for the new Voltron: Legendary Defender series. As always, the central characters are Keith and Allura. Most background info for the characters are purely my own daydreams, conjecture, and ideas from reading way too many Reddit posts/discussions._

 _These stories build off the events of Left Behind, my submission for the KAEX challenge in the first/pilot episode. You don't need to read it to get what is going on, but as a shameless plug, totally take a look!_

 ** _Ch1: Useless_**

 _Takes place during episode 5, aka "Fall of the Castle of Lions" where they host the Arusians in the castle, Pidge was going to leave, and the Galra take over the castle. The story starts just as Keith and Allura are trapped outside the castle and before they make contact with Pidge about sabotaging the main engines._

* * *

He needed to get in there. Pounding his fists against the barrier surrounding the castle, he felt utterly useless. Not to mention embarrassed that the Galra forces had divided them so easily.

' _Rookie move Keith, just great. Now Shiro and the others are in there, and you can't help anyone!_ ' He internally degraded himself. 'You've been acting off from the beginning of this little venture, and it's going to get you killed… worse, it will get them killed.'

Trying to quell the rage inside at being outsmarted by their adversaries, Keith took a deep breath. Letting it out, he decided it best to accept that they couldn't do anything, but it only made him more angered after hearing the Princess confirm it. Smashing his fist once more to the force field separating them from their friends, he took a step back.

"It's no good," her voice came from his side. "We can't get through that shield. We'll have to hope that Pidge and Shiro can stop whoever is attacking."

"Oh, we know who is attacking." Keith let out another shaky breath. 'Calm and controlled,' he repeated inside, needing to get a better handle on himself. He would do no one any good if he lost it now.

"That we do, and while we can't do much, I know our friends inside can."

The two stood in silence for a time, both looking up at the orb that surrounding the castle. Gazing away from the purplish hue, he watched as Allura scanned the barrier as if looking for something.

Keith had to admit she was physically attractive. Her lithe form had caught his attention several times since their initial meeting. The thing was, he didn't really register it until their conversation on the bridge of the ship. Now it bombarded him at the most inopportune moments... when they first met the Arusian warrior in front of the castle he went into overdrive wanting to keep her safe... watching her play with the villagers while he rested against the tree... and now as she remained determined and tried to find a way into her castle.

She shared a connection with him, one that went beyond troubled childhoods or feelings of abandonment. It remained difficult for him to explain fully to himself, let alone voice it out loud for anyone else.

When near her, Keith felt things. Emotions he hoped never to experience. They were too dangerous to do so.

Studying her face as she concentrated, he noticed the little quirks of her silver eyebrows and long dark lashes. Her deep blue eyes and tanned skin matched well with the pink accents high on her cheekbones. And with the pointed ears and royal circlet, she resembled the fantasy elven people he remembered from childhood stories. How many of those books had he read as a child to try and escape his life? And here he had one right before his eyes.

Shaking his head he tried to clear the thoughts from his mind. Once more he berated himself for not staying serious and in the moment.

' _It's no wonder Shiro worries about me so much; I get distracted by a pair of beautiful lips and eyes_.'

The thoughts then turned to her personality; aside from her feminine curves, she held that spark that demanded his attention. She was kind, funny even at times, but then she could be demanding and courageous. He could see the natural leader qualities that she possessed; ones that he had yet to learn.

"How do you always stay so positive?" He asked before even realizing he let the words escape his lips.

"Huh?" She turned her eyes away from the castle and towards the man who stood next to her.

The bits of his wild hair stuck out of his helmet, causing her to blush slightly at the stray thought of brushing it out of his eyes. Thankfully, he didn't appear to notice her momentary daydream as he looked away and back to the castle.

"You're always so positive. You have more excuse to be negative than any of us and yet… you always believe in people."

"Ah, well, at times it is hard," she began watching his face almost soften at her words. Keith Kogane, of all the paladins that came from Earth, he alone posed the biggest mystery to her. Lance, Hunk, and Pidge didn't seem to hold back as Keith or Shiro did.

Shiro, while quite secretive and troubled himself, did not demand her attention as the younger of the two. In Shiro, she saw the leader qualities and caring for his team. He was a great teacher and leader despite the events of the past year that seemed to trouble him at times. Unlike Shiro, Keith's qualities had yet to mature fully. And there was something else that drew her to the pilot of Red Lion.

' _He has much potential, if able to keep that inner rage in check_ ,' she thought, ' _so much like father had said of the Red Lion_.'

"I find it better not to let the things I cannot change bog me down."

Keith nodded, taking in her words.

"And I truly believe that you all found Blue Lion and came here for a reason. You are the paladins chosen by Voltron."

The scoff that came from his lips had her quirking an eyebrow, confused by the reaction.

"Chosen ones," Keith turned to look at her in the eyes. "And some chosen ones we turned out to be," looking from her to their desired destination.

"Pidge and Shiro will come through… they have to."

Keith felt bad adding to her worry. A spike of emotion in his gut told him to make it better, somehow take her mind off the bleak situation.

"I guess being a chosen one is much better than being considered crazy." He chuckled turning away from the barrier. Taking a few steps away from her, he looked out on the view of the planet Arus. "You know, before finding the Blue Lion, I started getting this feeling about searching for something. Now that I think about it I have always felt a little off. And I guess it only grew stronger as I got older... after Shiro left. I don't know… it caused a lot of issues to come to ahead… especially with the Garrison and accepting their version of things." Keith rubbed the back of his neck feeling a bit frustrated even talking about the inner voices that often arose. He didn't know why he was even telling her this. It wasn't something he normally discussed.

"Keith, fate and destiny are hard to explain. I understand that more than most. And I did mean what I said before; I'm here for you… for all of you." Allura once more took a tentative step closer to the troubled paladin.

"I appreciate that Princess. Shiro is always reminding me I'm not in this alone, but at times, it is hard to see that."

"Does that have anything to do with your reaction to Pidge's announcement on leaving?"

"That…" Keith sighed and gave her a look of contrition, knowing he went too far verbally attacking Pidge and even Hunk for their desire to see their families.

"I guess it is much harder to miss something you barely remember." He admitted. "I just know how it feels to have your world destroyed… well, not literally, but enough to know that Zarkon needs to be stopped. I shouldn't have lost my cool earlier. I hope that Pidge is ok in there."

As the conversation turned particularly interesting to her, with Keith on the verge of opening up, their attention quickly turned to the whispered voice in their communicators.

"Pidge? Pidge is that you?"

* * *

 _And we all know how the episode ended from there - Thanks for reading, and I'll see you when the plot bunnies are satisfied with the second chapter!_


	2. Precious

_Hello fellow K/A fans, are you ready for more fluffy bits that might give you cavities? Gotta love the sweet things!_

 _Ch2: Precious_

 _Takes place between the time where Lance awakes from his cryo-sleep after the events of the "Fall of the Castle of Lions" episode and before the ship takes off. Allura, Coran, and the crew are waiting for the ship to finish its warm up cycle before they take off to the Balmera._

* * *

They had survived their first near team-ending crisis.

Lance was back and pretty much himself once more after being injured from that fake Rover bomb. The fact that he hit on the Princess and gave Keith attitude convinced everyone that the Blue Lion pilot was functioning at his normal capacities.

Pidge, the savior of the day, recently disclosed girl and once more dedicated to the mission pilot, and Hunk, anxious to go save his friend, sat on the floor of the common room tinkering with an upgraded security protocol for Rover. The two half circle couches contained the array of parts and gadgetry; it was something to keep his mind off his friend and the castle's inability to take off just yet.

Shiro sat silently on one of the couches, reflecting on the events of the day prior. They certainly had let their guard down and paid the price for it. Next to him, Lance reclined on the cushions, one leg over the backrest, adding to the current topic of conversation.

"My mom's cooking…" Hunk said stopping his work and closing his eyes. "I'd never seen so much butter used in one place before when she cooked last year's Thanksgiving dinners. Delicious."

"Dinners?" Lance and Pidge both looked at the larger man, thinking they heard wrong.

"Well, I guess the love of food runs in the family… And well, that sounds great and all, but I bet my mom could cook circles around yours!" Lance boasted.

"That is so like you Lance," Pidge shook her head. "I think the next time we're on Earth we have a showdown. Battle of the Moms."

"You're on little girl!" Lance smirked.

"Hey, just because I'm shorter than you, doesn't mean I'm little. I saved your butt, remember?"

"Oh so you're checking out my butt, are you?" Lance's smirk turned into a sparkling one as he continued to fluster the youngest on their crew. "Not that I can blame you, I am irresistible; I can't be held responsible if all the ladies we encounter fall for me. First our illustrious Princess fell for my charms and now even the techie."

"What exactly have Pidge and I fallen for?" Allura asked as she entered the room where the group sat. Looking around at the five men, she noticed Keith sitting slightly further away from the group, a cloth in one hand, and his dagger in the other.

"Ah, Princess," Lance stammered as the others snickered at him. He sat up quickly and gave an attempt at his best innocent face. "Nothing much, we were just talking about family and things."

"You all must miss your families… I know I miss mine," she put her hands together and silently prayed for the souls she had lost.

"Have a seat Princess; we're trying to unwind a bit. You should join us. Unless we're ready to take off?" Hunk gave her a questioning smile; it wasn't a secret that he was anxious to get underway. After seeing her shake her head, he tried to keep a friendly smile. His gesture to the empty spot near Keith, had her eyes look around at each of them once more.

"Were all of you talking about your families?" She asked, taking a seat. Her eyes instantly drifted towards Keith, who still was not making much eye contact. Instead, it appeared he was satisfied with focusing on his dagger. It was an object that she had noticed a few times and still had yet to ask him about it.

"Well, we were," Lance spoke up, leaning closer towards the center of the room and looking at the princess who sat across from him on the other couch. "But Mr. Crabby pants there just keeps playing with his toy."

A dark look crossed Keith's face as Lance once more tried to aggravate him. It seemed to be a game the other pilot enjoyed. Most of the time Keith tried his best not to give in, other times the urge to enter the verbal sparring match won out. Deep down Keith knew that Lance chose to act this way mainly because, in a physical fight, the poor guy would not stand a chance.

"It's not a toy," he corrected the other and looked up to see several people looking at him. Their expressions appeared to be waiting for him to share. "I don't have anything to contribute; what do you expect from me?" Keith replied putting the rag down and sheathing the dagger.

"May I?" Allura asked slowly reaching out her hands towards Keith's treasured object.

Keith looked at Allura for a short moment and then gave her the dagger.

Hunk and Pidge returned to their tinkering as Lance, Shiro and Keith watched as Allura pulled the blade from its cover and examined it.

"It is well made. Do many Terrans carry such weapons?"

"Nah, just the weird ones." Lance scoffed and relaxed back into the couch.

"What was that, cargo pilot?" Keith was instantly ready to let the rage spill out.

"Cargo? Wha? Hell no, I'm a fighter pilot!"

"Only after I left."

"Kicked out, flunked, not good enough are the terms the Garrison used."

"The Garrison is full of shit!" Keith stood, letting the rage take over.

"Keith, that's enough." Shiro's voice stopped the younger man's top from blowing.

Letting out a breath, he crossed his arms and sank back into the cushions.

"I've been meaning to ask, are you both related? It's only you both have such a strong connection and bond. I've noticed it quite a bit actually." Her question caught many off guard in the room. Truth be told she felt a little afraid to ask them and after the outburst just now...

It was a lingering debate among the three active cadets as to the ties between their leader and the dropout. There were moments that Shiro's attentions appeared different, more understanding of Keith. Hunk and Pidge couldn't help but be pulled back into the conversation, anticipating the response.

"Not so much tied by blood, but Keith's been a part of my life for a while now," Shiro smiled looking at the man he had helped growing up. "And he's always had that dagger, I've seen him carry it ever since the first day we met."

Allura carefully handed Keith back his property, silently thanking him for letting her see it.

"It is beautifully crafted. Was it made on Earth?"

"I'm not... exactly sure," Keith sighed not wanting to talk, but figuring it was best to answer a few questions then be pestered later. "I think it belonged to my father or his family, but I don't recall its origin precisely. I just feel better when it's at my side."

"See what I told you, Princess? That's just grade-a weirdo material!" Lance chimed in, only to earn another look from Keith.

Before the two could continue their squabbles, Coran's voice sounded from the speakers.

"Princess, the main engine appears to be ready to go." The royal advisor spoke. "We can begin take off sequence at any time."

"Glad to hear it, Coran, I will be on the bridge shortly," Allura replied and stood up. "Well paladins, shall we?"

"Yes! Gonna free Shay and start giving it back to Zarkon!" Hunk exclaimed.

"Let's do this!" Lance added.

"Alright, calm down everyone. Let's suit up and meet on the bridge," Shiro directed, and the younger cadets all jumped up, making their way out of the room.

Keith and the Princess lingered behind a moment after the others left- both standing and looking at the dagger.

"Thank you for sharing," she smiled. "I know you are a very private person."

"It's hard to explain it Princess, but just know that I consider Shiro a lot more than just my brother. He saved a ten-year-old kid from a nightmarish existence and gave me a focal point in life. I was lost this last year without him, and I promise the galaxies that I will not fail him or you."

Allura smiled at the impassioned vow from the man before her. She knew that he would be a man of his word, and in some ways, a warm feeling filled her.

He had once asked how she stayed so positive, even among all this hardship, well, it helped to be surrounded by people willing to fight. Ready to join her in the battle. She wasn't alone either, and she knew it.

"I'll keep you to your word, Keith."

"Hey, what are you doing standing there?" And again, the pair's momentary reprieve ended, and reality entered back into the mix. "We gotta go save Shay!"

The pair nodded and sighed. Putting his precious, yet mysterious posession back on his belt, Keith motioned for Allura to lead.

With a smile, she began to walk, Keith following closely to her right.

 _You remain so interesting to me Keith_ Kogane, she thought to herself, _I don't understand this power you have, but I do believe your words and in some way, they ease my troubles some... maybe once we have some time, I would like to know more about you._

* * *

 _And cue the rest of that episode :) Thanks for joining me, until we meet again!_


	3. Memories

_I could get used to writing shorter stories. I feel super accomplished after such brief idea bursts from the plot bunnies. Anyway, thanks to the reviewers, your comments are greatly appreciated and enjoyed!_

 _I also find it amusing that VLD has its own category, but Voltron Force or the Comics have to share with the original. Oh well, I don't make the rules, I just post my stories here for all to enjoy and wonder what form of prescription drugs I was on while writing. Sadly none of the fun ones.  
_

 ** _Chapter 3: Memories_**

 _Takes place shortly after the events of Crystal Venom - where the castle went crazy-pants (a technical term) on the team, and Allura made the decision to delete her father's memory program to save the castle ship and the team._

* * *

Words did little to describe the pain she felt in her heart.

Her world in the last week… ten thousand years and some odd hours… however you quantify her last week of conscious life brought challenge and heartache.

The last thing she remembered before placed into a cryo-sleep was the trauma of her world attacked, her father giving up hope of survival and the fear of running.

Add to that, once awakened, the fresh round of alien men arriving on her doorstep. They had their hearts in the right place, mostly, but comparing them to the paladins of old, well, there was no comparison really.

Spending time with them those first days she wondered if they could ever form Voltron. Miracles of miracles when it counted, they succeeded. The goddess of fate had finally been kind in some regards with them pulling together. Heavens knows she tried to assist in the bond building. Yet they fought among themselves, kept secrets, and still did not fully trust their comrades.

Had she been able to concentrate on much more than the most recent loss of her father's memories and data in the A.I. chamber, the feeling of something missing from the group would have been apparent.

While Shiro filled the role of a good leader on the outside, something was off… his crew listened to him, depended on him, but still, doubt crept into their hearts at times. He was not quite the leader of a King Alfor caliber.

King Alfor. Her father. Long dead, she knew, but at least with the A.I. program, she could almost forget that he could no longer hold her in his warm and strong embrace. Seeing him and hearing his voice comforted her through those first days awake. He helped her pick up the pieces that settled from the battles of old.

"Gone, he's gone," Allura sobbed into her pillows. Her room in the castle had been one of her favorite places as a child, but now, it felt cold. Even wrapped in the blankets of her bed, with a hot cup of Altean tea on her bedside table… it all felt hollow.

The team tried to console her, and yet all she wanted was to curl up and sleep once more. Looking over at the stillness of her room, she wondered how long she had stayed hauled up in her fortress of solitude.

"I've been nothing but a cry baby," she chastised herself. "Even the mice are sick of hearing me complain."

With a sigh, Allura, the Princess of Altea knew she needed to get a hold of herself.

 _If you fall apart, then the whole team could crumble. We don't need that right now._ Her thoughts had her sitting up and rubbing her face. Around her eyes, she could feel the puffy and irritated skin from crying.

 _I might have scared the poor things away looking like this_ , she mused as she got out of bed and walked to her vanity.

"Definitely scared them away," she tried to laugh at the state she was in at the moment. "Some Princess you look like. Get it together Allura."

From behind her, the chatter of the four space mice that were connected to her thoughts caught her attention.

"Well hello little friends," she began bending over from her seat to open her hands for them to step into her palms.

The small animals did so without hesitation. The fattest mouse went straight to hugging her cheek as she brought them nearly at eye level. The smallest followed, and soon all the mince save the one with the serious eyes and pointed nose were hugging her. Pulling back a bit, she noticed the mouse held something behind its back.

"You say you've got something to make me smile?" She asked, speaking the internal voice that they shared. The mouse nodded and then held up the small chip-like device.

"What is this?" She asked not knowing what the tiny creatures brought. The four quickly began to mimic out the scenario that she easily understood from just listening to them.

"I need to put this in the A.I. chamber…" To be honest, her desire to go anywhere near that room remained low. How can I ever go there and deal with my father or the flower field not being there? She wondered.

The mice were quite insistent.

Letting her curiosity overpower the painful feelings, Allura conceded and stood up. Still in her flowing nightgown of soft pinks, she stepped out of her room, with her mice friends still in hand.

Making her way through the castle, she felt thankful that no one saw her. She didn't want to deal with the others quite yet.

Walking slowly into the room that once held precious memories, she knelt at the base of the repaired A.I. projector.

The small rodents all took a place on the floor watching and encouraging their Princess to insert the device. The same mouse that handed her the chip, the one with the long face and grayish fur, nodded to her and for a moment, a flash of a certain man in a red jacket came to her mind. The mysterious paladin of the Red Lion and the slender mouse both had a similar air of silent support to them.

Almost laughing at the thought that the mice certainly did remind her of the new team, she decided to see what her friends had brought.

"Here goes nothing," she gave them a small smile and the machine instantly came to life.

Her breath caught in her throat, and her eyes went wide at what she saw.

The lush fields of Juniberries once more appeared before her. The magenta colored flowers contrasted against the green grasses and filled her heart with happiness. While the mountains on the horizon were a new addition to her usual scene, and the flowers looked slightly different, she could tell what they were.

"How did?" She stopped and looked at the happy mice. "Did Pidge and Hunk salvage some of father's memories?"

Her question was met with a mini-conference between the mice before they told her not really.

"Not really?" Her confusion grew at the weird answer.

The four mice smiled and took off, scattering in the tall grass, also enjoying the new projection.

"I'll thank Pidge and Hunk later." She smiled and laid back among the flowers. While still sad about losing her father's memories and presence, the fields of flowers helped ease her troubles.

Closing her eyes, Allura allowed herself to relax once more.

* * *

Her confusion certainly grew after a short conversation with Pidge and Hunk in the Green Lion bay area. The pair of techno geeks, _whatever that meant_ she asked herself after hearing Lance regularly refer to the two as that, had admitted to helping in the device's creation.

 _They said that the data was unsalvageable,_ she thought to herself. _And it was Keith's idea to create the images…_

Both Hunk and Pidge told her that Keith had done most of the picture rendering, surprising them all with his computer knowledge and ultimately his creativity in the scene.

 _Keith Kogane._ Her brows scrunched a bit, not knowing what to make out of the distant, yet so emotionally aware man's actions.

Pidge mentioned Keith went back to the training room after their task finished. That was where Allura headed, determined to ask a few questions of the Red Lion pilot.

Entering the viewing room above the actual training floor, she expected to find him fighting another of the castle's simulated fighters, but that wasn't the case.

Instead, the dark-haired man stood shirtless in the middle of the room. She could not yet see much of his face, as his black locks once more shielded them. With slow and fluid-like movements, his arms, legs, and body… floated. The graceful moves looked almost like a dance, but also as if he was fighting an invisible enemy in slow motion.

The actions of the man had her staring, unable to look away. As he turned fully facing her, she could finally see his face. Allura noticed that he had his eyes closed and controlled his breathing. It truly mesmerized her, and the Princess nearly forgot her mission.

Leaving the upper chamber, Allura went down to the training room, hoping that the sounds of the doors wouldn't stop his… whatever he was doing.

Sadly the swish of the door and her entrance did interrupt the man's movements.

Keith, still shirtless and lightly glistening with sweat, looked up to find the Princess standing before him in her nightgown.

A slight blush painted his cheeks, and he quickly tried to find his discarded shirt.

"Princess…" he spoke up wanting to end the silence between them. "Can I help you with anything?"

"Keith, oh, um… I… sorry I interrupted you. It was beautiful, whatever that was." She spoke aloud; amazed she didn't say the first thing that came to her mind as she caught a better look at his chiseled chest. The almost sun-kissed completion he had, appeared even lighter over the skin of his muscled chest.

"Tai Chi, well a variation of it really." He said rubbing the back of his neck and turning quickly to grab his dark tank shirt from the floor.

Allura watched as he did so, and felt shocked finally noticing the marks that crossed his back. Scars. They looked well healed, but they remained clear to any observer.

Blinking, she wondered how she could have missed them from the viewing deck.

His shirt quickly covered the marks, and after a calming breath, he turned. Allura could tell that he didn't want to talk about what she saw, it was in his eyes.

"Oh, um,"

"Tai Chi is an ancient Earth form of meditation; it looks like fighting, and the moves can be used for that… it's a technique that Shiro taught me after I... first met him." Again, his tone in remembering a particular place or memory meant it was not up for discussion.

"So Princess, what can I do for you?"

"How far in the simulator have you gotten?" She asked instead. It was hard to tell if Keith would answer her questions at that point, but she didn't want to waste this time alone with him.

"Um, I haven't wanted to try anything since Level Three went on that rampage to murder me earlier." He smiled looking up at the place where the training droids would drop down when called.

"Wow, level three? That is quite impressive in only a few days."

"I've been getting the hand of this Bayard."

"It took me months to get to that level."

A look of amusement crossed his face.

"I know, I don't look very strong, but father wanted everyone to know how to fight. And well those few years after Zarkon turned on us, everyone needed to fight."

"I wasn't trying to say you couldn't," he quickly clarified. "It is just that the image of Princesses on Earth usually doesn't equate to a warrior. Don't get me wrong; I think it's good that women can protect themselves and their loved ones."

"Did you learn to fight at your Garrison?"

Keith scoffed a bit before he spoke.

"I knew how to fight before that, not very well… Shiro took me under his wing, taught me meditation to try and contain my emotions. The Garrison, I suppose in a way helped me gain more skills, yes, but the price they asked for in return… I had issues with that."

"It sounds like you and the others had a different experience at this school."

"Different situations for sure." He added mysteriously. Changing the topic, he noticed the small device in her hands.

"So, did you test it out?"

"What? Oh, this? Yes, I wanted to thank you," she began, "for making this." Holding up the device, he had played a large part in creating.

"Did it help?" He asked. Keith hadn't known what came over him with feeling the need to do something like that for Allura. It was just that she looked so devastated on the bridge after destroying her father's data. _She did that for us… to save us._

As Shiro and the team crowded around her to show their support, Keith knew that the touchy feely thing was not for him. That was when the idea for the new image came to him. She had mentioned some kind of flowers once. And while he had never seen the particular ones she grew up around, there was a scene of flowers that brought peace to his heart.

"It did, but I have to ask… how did you get the image from the data? Pidge said it was unrecoverable."

A look of confusion crossed his face.

"From where?"

"Well, the image, Keith. It was the one from my father's memories. The fields of Juniberries?"

His continued look of shock now had her equally bewildered.

"Um, that image, it didn't come from any data. I asked Pidge and Hunk try to recover parts, but it didn't work. So, I coded something from a story… it is about the only thing I can remember from my mother. She would tell me stories of far-off lands, one in particular with fields of flowers. Altumian, I think she called them. I don't remember much at all of my time with them, but that image and her voice… it's been my peaceful place ever since. I thought you could use it too." He scratched his nose, feeling slightly embarrassed telling her all that. Once more, it just seemed right to talk to her about things he wouldn't share with others… not even Shiro.

Allura stayed silent listening to his account of how he knew the image.

"I don't understand the rage that builds up in me at times, but imagining those fields help calms me."

 _Oh my,_ she thought, trying to look normal and calm. T _he Galrianlian word for Juniberries is Aruthiam. It is close enough to what he said... but how could he know of them when he's from Earth? Arus gave Galra a great deal of the flowers during our peaceful times, but no one would know that besides Coran, me… and maybe Zarkon?_

"I just wanted to do something for you. Try and make you smile, because you need to keep smiling. You're the positive one after all," he tried to joke, but it fell flat only getting a slight smile from her.

"Keith…" she summoned the courage to confront him about the flowers, about the apparent understanding of the controls multiple times on the different ships and more. These series of events could not be coincidence.

"There you are Princess!" Lance's voice interrupted them once more as he strolled into the room. "Oh, Keith's here." His voice sounded less enthusiastic than just seconds before. "Wait a minute… Keith, are you putting the moved on the Princess? You sly dog!"

"What? No!" Keith felt the red flush fully across his cheeks. Looking at the brown haired man, Keith wanted to ask how anyone could be so dumb, but withheld the comment.

"Well, good. Let a pro show you how to make the ladies swoon. You'll just get rejected and make things awkward with your brooding is all."

"Whatever Lance, I have to go... find Shiro," Keith made an excuse to leave before he and Lance really got into it. He hated looking stupid in front of Allura, and as much as he didn't want to leave, having Lance spread rumors about them would make things difficult.

Without another word, Keith retrieved his red jacket and left the room.

"Well good riddance," Lance smiled, turning his attention to Allura. "So how you doing?" His trademark lady killer smile turned on Allura, to no effect. "Coran was looking for you. He went to check on you, and you weren't in your room."

"Thank you, Lance. I'll head to the control room now." She said without paying the other man much more attention. Her eyes were still looking at the door in which Keith had used to leave. "If you'll excuse me."

And she too moved to exit the room.

"Well fine then," sighed Lance. Allura was not going to fall for his charms quickly, but then again, he liked a challenge.

* * *

"Oh Princess, there you are," came Coran's voice as he stood at the front console of the ship.

Now fully dressed in her long gown, Allura entered the room, still deep in thought until she stood next to her advisor.

"Sorry if I worried you. I needed some time and well, it's been long enough. I couldn't let myself be depressed. Father has long been gone, and I received a gift of getting more time with him. I was selfish. Not many can say they got to say goodbye to their loved ones."

"It's alright Princess. No one is angry at your reaction," he comforted her.

"We have too much work to be done, so I'm back and ready."

"Glad to hear it, Allura. I've been working on cleaning up the systems that went on the fritz like a pack of wild Enttrophants."

"Much appreciated. I have a feeling we will be debugging the castle for some time to come." She hesitated on whether or not to ask the question she had in her head or not.

"Coran?"

"Yes, Princess?" The red-haired man turned and noticed that Allura held a slightly conflicted look on her face.

"I was wondering if you could pull up the scans the castle did on the paladins?"

"The one that happened when they first arrived?"

"Yes, that one should do it."

The quirked eyebrow from the other man had her hoping that he would not ask why she wanted this information. Luckily the expression passed, and Coran began typing away on the computer.

Pulling up the data files, he turned to her.

"Anything particular you needed to see? I've not had time to go over it myself. I wonder if their stomachs can handle an actual four course Quizaptrian meal. They didn't seem to like the warrior's lunch the other day." Allura allowed her friend to continue on about nothing of much importance, as he tended to do at times, and instead looked at the file marked Kogane.

"Can you send them to my room? I think I might look at them another time. Just wanted to make sure they were there if we ever need them... for medical purposes and the castle isn't functioning correctly again." She covered her real reasonings well.

"Marvelous idea, so have you eaten yet? I think Hunk is going to be making some new dish using a few herbs he got from Shay."

* * *

Later that evening, after an amusing meal experience with the team, Allura retired to the A.I. Chamber to once more enjoy the field of flowers.

In her hand she held a data reader, reading over the scans from earlier.

From first glance, everything appears to be quite similar to the others... but when looking deeper, something is very off.

 _What are you Keith Kogane? Do you even know what you have inside your veins? Or who your ancestors are?_ She wondered.

His scans showed a mixed composition. There was something, sometime in his past that the human species combined with and alien race. She was not experienced enough to know if it was Altean, Galrian or one of the thousands of other races that roamed the galaxy. But there was indeed something special about the red paladin.

* * *

 _End chapter three!_

 _Ok friends, that is it for chapter three. I think one more chapter will be coming and then I think I've run out of interludes for the current season. Until next time!_


	4. The End, for Now

**The End, for Now.**

 _Ok dear reader, it appears the plot bunnies are not satisfied with just little one shots with the VLD universe. Ideas for a longer fic are taking shape… but I might have to fight them back till I finish another project. Well, multiple ones. I also wanted to throw out a Voltron Force story for the group. I've been playing with that on and off for some time and really want to get it out of my system soon. The other was a short continuation of my Dreams to Reality stories- gotta make it a trilogy! Not to mention finishing up another story for a long time fav old school anime!  
_

 _So yeah, the VLD long story might be a while. My poor brain can't handle all these ideas… must write faster!_

 _Until that all happens, enjoy the final chapter of the one-shots. I am sure that if I tried hard enough, I could add more chapters, but this seems like a good amount of VLD fluff for now._

 _Takes place during the last episode on Netflix. If you have not watched it yet, obviously do not read this quite yet. To remind the others, basically after Allura is taken, Keith offers up a thought that sounds kind of harsh, but has so much more going in inside his head. The story also continues while they are battling Zarkon and the fleet to escape.  
_

* * *

Anger. No, fear. Was it confusion? No, definitely anger. That is what Keith tried to decipher after Shiro emerged from the Galran vessel alone. Their simple mission had gone from hastily planned and risky to full on disaster.

Not only that, but he had failed to retrieve a vial of that quintessence the Galra manufactured. His inability to get the power source and allow Pidge and Coran to study it was a horrible blow, personally. In order to get a better understanding of the Galra abilities, that would have gone a long way.

And yet, the pilot of the Red Lion knew that losing the Princess Allura to be much deeper a failure.

 _She is strong, hell of a lot stronger than we are..._ he thought back to when she first changed into a Galra-look alike. _So that stands to mean that she will be just fine. They wouldn't kill their ace in the hole._

That was why, when he listened to the others fighting and some of the ideas to get her back, he noted none of them were really thinking.

"Or, maybe we shouldn't go on this mission at all. Think about it. We'll be delivering the universe's only hope to the universe's biggest enemy." He spoke up, and the group instantly came down on him with anger.

"Keith, that's cold... even from you" Hunk's voice and look cut him to the core. Did they really think so little of him that they expected him to be selfish and not try and save any of them?

"What if it was one of us? What if it was me? You wouldn't leave me, would you?" He continued and inside Keith felt like they didn't understand him at all.

 _It isn't a matter of want or who was in trouble..._

"I'm not saying I like the idea," he defended himself, trying to remember to breathe so he could try and explain himself more. "But I'm just thinking like a paladin."

Lance's comment about being afraid and scared could not be further from the truth, but before he could get a chance to really explain his ideas - owning up to how bad it did sound at first- Keith found himself once more in his Lion and getting ready to launch. Shiro had decided that they take the crazy idea of going straight to Galra with Voltron.

He had been unable to expand on his notion of the not ' _we_ ' going to the rescue. He had wanted to suggest, much like getting the Red Lion, it be a stealth job of one.

Of course, he wanted to be the one to volunteer to go. It made sense. His lion was the fastest and of all the pilots, not including Shiro, he had the most experience flying missions. _In the simulator,_ he added, but then shook that thought out of his head. _No time like the present to get that critical experience._

Instead, the five lions were going to walk right up and knock on the door of the most dominant race in the known galaxies. It was what the majority of the group thought was right, and with Coran's help, they were in.

He never had backed away from a fight. Even when outnumbered and outgunned, that rarely stopped the young man from giving it just as good as he would get. His sense of justice and desire for fairness always had him standing up and defending those who could not.

Feeling a slight bout of nauseousness, he tried to shake the reaction out of his head. To be honest, he had felt strange ever since his battle with that masked creature.

 _Must have been that quien-whatever that got splashed on me_ , he thought, trying to not dwell on the fact that a fair amount absorbed into his skin, healing his injured hand. _No time to think about that now._

The ride to his lion took no time flat, and the near inner-peace he felt when entering the cockpit, took his mind from the substance that may or may not be messing with his system. In any other situation, he wold have told Shiro that he was not 100%, but letting down his friend, his brother, his savior now was not an option. He would push through this. How many times in this past had he done the same? Enough to know that his body would catch up and get the job done.

It wouldn't be pretty, but they would go up to Zarkon's door and kick that door in.

 _We'll get the Princess back, and then the universe will know that Voltron means business._

* * *

Shiro's pained screams echoed in Keith's ears via the comlink.

The five lions broke apart during the battle, and Zarkon's forces pounced on their momentary weakness.

Spurred into action, and aided by Coran's castle attack, Keith assessed the situation. A slight change of plans needed to happen and now, or else Zarkon would get the Black Lion.

"Shiro, are you ok?" He didn't like what he heard, and so he pounced. Directing Hunk, Pidge, and Lance to continue their engagement with the fleet, he moved his lion towards the beam that contained Black.

Shiro's steady, but weakened voice finally came over the com after being ejected from his lion; it made Keith feel slightly better. However, the time for relaxing could not come.

"You guys go save the Princess, I'll take care of things out here," Keith added, and received a bit of push-back.

"Don't argue, do it." His tone had even Lance nodding in recognition.

* * *

Taking a deep breath, he felt a power inside of him awaken and know what to do. It just seemed like he needed to fight for Black Lion with all he had - the same tingling from the Blue Lion back on Earth sent the hairs on the back of his neck alert. It didn't matter who that figure was coming at him, he would get that lion back.

"This is my chance to end the Galra empire, I have to take it," he shouted and engaged their foe.

Not fully understanding how a single person could contain so much power, Keith kept coming back for the fight. Getting swatted away and slammed down, he tried to push the thoughts of deja vu from the orphanage and a particular headmaster out of his mind.

 _No, this battle is with Zarkon, not him. Keep it together Keith,_ he told himself. _Come on Red, we can do this! We have to!  
_

Cutting off all distractions, even Coran's voice telling him to run, Keith would not walk away from this.

After being propelled hard against the ship, the controls fizzled and didn't respond to his joystick movements. _Red, come on!_ He spoke to his lion. And to his relief, he felt his lion talk back. Using his bayard, he found the power to create a cannon on Red's back. It certainly caught Zarkon off guard, for a time.

And yet, with the levels of damage his lion had taken, there was only so much will-power could do.

 _Well Red, I'm sorry I wasn't a better paladin... I guess things turned out like he said it would... in the end._ Keith didn't know when the finishing blow would hit, but he knew it to be soon. Trying to eject and leave Red Lion sounded like even more certain death, and so he stayed with his partner.

 _I won't leave you._

Shiro and the Black Lion flew in, just in time, saving Keith from the mighty blade of their enemy.

Once the castle ship found a way out of the barrier and into the wormhole, the bruised Red Paladin let out a breath.

After that second of thankfulness to be in the hanger bay and not in the melee anymore, the pull of the forces had him fighting to keep upright and not lose consciousness. Sadly, the momentary reprieve ended with the group being hurdled in all which ways in the corrupted vortex.

What the future would bring for him or their crew, no one knew at that moment. All Keith could do was sit back in his chair, brace for whatever impact was coming, and let the universe sort it out. No matter where he ended up, it couldn't be worse than where he had come from and what he had already survived.

 _Don't worry Allura,_ he thought, closing his eyes _, I won't fail you. This isn't the end!  
_

* * *

 _The end...or is it?_

 _And there we have the end of the series and the end of this story. Thanks for coming along on the ride. Not sure Netflix will give us second half of a first season or make us wait for season two. Either way, I plan to play around in this universe a bit more. Let me know what you thought or some of your own little theories as well. I like randomness in the comments!  
_

 _Thanks again to all those who reviewed!_


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